LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
December 15/16
Compiled
& Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
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Bible Quotations For Today
They were Saying: When the Messiah comes, will he do
more signs than this man has done?
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to
The depth of the riches and
wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and how
inscrutable his ways
Letter to the Romans 11/25-36./:"So that you may not claim to be wiser
than you are, brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery: a
hardening has come upon part of
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 14-15/16
Hizbollah seeks to retain its pivotal role in
Lebanon/Michael Young/The National/December 14/2016
Ghosn Named Mitsubishi Chairman as New Executive
Roles Created/ Jie Ma and Yuki
Hagiwara/Bloomberg/December 13/2016
Iran's president congratulates Assad for 'liberating Aleppo'/Reuters/Ynetnews/December 14/16/
Coptic, Bishop Angaelos: We Do Not Want Revenge For
Cairo Attack, But We Do Want Justice/Bishop Angaelos,
Coptic Orthodox Church UK/ December 12/16
Netanyahu to Iran: Don't threaten us; we’re not a rabbit, we’re a tiger/Itamar Eichner/Ynetnews/December
14/16
UAE’s power is Saudi Arabia’s power/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/December 14/16
This holiday season, here’s what we should do for Syria’s children/Peter
Harrison/Al Arabiya/December 14/16
The United Church of Christ: Knowingly Silent on Terrorism/Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/December 14/ 2016
Violence Against Non-Muslim Increases in Bangladesh/Mohshin
Habib/Gatestone Institute/December 14/2016
Titles For Latest
Lebanese Related News published on December 14-15/16
US Embassy: Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Meets
with Lebanese Leaders
Aoun: Clear business strategy for food security to be
adopted in cooperation with new government
Interior Minister denies having contact with Syria's Ali Mamlouk
Najjari from Dar al Fatwa: We are attached to
stability of Lebanon
Hariri from Baabda: Forming government requires
consultations
Jumblatt, FPM delegation tackle electoral law
FAO Director General winds up visit to Beirut
Japanese Embassy celebrates Emperor Birthday
Bassil: FPM is Hizbullah's
Ally and We Have Ability to Urge It to Withdraw from Syria
FPM Delegation Meets Jumblat, Says He Doesn't 'Flatly
Reject' Proportional Representation
FPM, Marada keen on breaking the ice: MP Aoun
Hariri Meets Aoun, Says Govt. Line-Up Needs More
Consultations despite Optimism
Jumblat Calls for Formation of 30-Minister Cabinet
Berri: No Justification to Delay Cabinet, We Share
FPM Viewpoint on Electoral Law
Berri: Forming a National Unity Cabinet of
30-Ministers Was Agreed
Lebanese Forces Denies Vetoing Participation of Kataeb
in Government
Protesters Block Akkar Highway 'in Solidarity with
Aleppo'
Two killed, one wounded in Mieh Mieh
refugee camp
Abusive Husband who Killed Wife Gets 22 Years in Jail
Hizbollah seeks to retain its pivotal role in
Lebanon/
Ghosn Named Mitsubishi Chairman as New Executive
Roles Created
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 14-15/16
Iran's president congratulates Assad for 'liberating Aleppo'
Syria Army Resumes Shelling of Rebel Aleppo
Assad: Donald Trump can be our natural ally
Iranian reformist diplomat: Iran will reap what it sows
Iran hosts Taliban leaders at a conference in Tehran
Philippine President says he personally killed suspected criminals
Qatar rejects Cairo cathedral bombing involvement claim
France Hits out at Trump's Bullish Tone with China
Iran: 43 Thousand Cases of Child Marriage
Maryam Rajavi Calls for
Action to Stop War Crimes by Iran Regime in Aleppo, Syria
Truck Carrying Spy Drones for Houthi Militias Seized
in Yemen
Iran Regime's Parliament Plans to Reduce Ties With Britain
Links From Jihad Watch Site for on December 14-15/16
Indonesia:
Tearful Jakarta governor denies insulting Quran as thousands of Muslim call for
his imprisonment.
Attorney
General Lynch slams ‘unacceptable’ rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes, silent
about anti-Semitic crimes.
Sam
Harris and the collapse of the counter-jihad Left.
Islamic
State claims responsibility for church bombing, Egypt says bomber was Muslim
Brotherhood supporter.
NYC:
Muslima who claimed she was harassed by Trump
supporters arrested for filing false report.
Iran
threatens America over ‘violation’ of nuclear deal; orders nuclear-powered
ships.
Sweden:
Muslim anti-racism spokesman praised jihad flag, is on list of jihad terror financiers.
Facebook locks out Robert Spencer.
Victory!
Facebook restores Robert Spencer’s account after
popular outcry.
Muslim
Brotherhood-linked Rep. Keith Ellison fails to defend anti-Israel statements,
blames “bad reporting”.
Amona: Israeli security forces prepare to expel Jews from Jewish
land.
Netanyahu
to Iran: “Don’t threaten us, we are not a rabbit we are a tiger. If you threaten
us you endanger yourself.”
Netherlands:
Muslims claim taxpayer funds to attend Qur’an lessons already offered for free.
Latest Lebanese Related News
published on on December 14-15/16
US Embassy: Assistant
Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Meets with Lebanese Leaders
Wed 14 Dec 2016/NNA - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern
Affairs Anne W. Patterson continued her visit to Lebanon today. In a press
release by the US Embassy in
Aoun: Clear business strategy for food security to be
adopted in cooperation with new government
Wed 14 Dec 2016/NNA - President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, informed the Director-General of FAO, Graziano da Silva, during their
meeting at the Baabda Palace, in the presence of
Agriculture Minister, Akram Shehayeb,
that Lebanon is looking forward to supporting the organization in every project
to be implemented in the food, agricultural, environment and forest protection
fields. Aoun expressed his appreciation for the
decision taken by FAO to open a regional office in Beirut for the sake of
covering the Levant countries, stressing that "full support will be
provided to facilitate the work of those in charge of the office," and
pointing out that "what has been achieved so far needs continuous
attention because sustainable development of the agriculture sector is of major
importance."
Aoun pointed out that "a clear business
strategy in the direction of food security will be provided in cooperation with
the new government, in order to preserve fisheries, forestry and poultry."He also hoped Da
Silva would offer assistance in the care provided by
At the end of his talks, Da Silva underlined
that the reopening of the FAO regional office in
Interior Minister denies having contact
with Syria's Ali Mamlouk
Wed 14 Dec 2016/NNA - Caretaker Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Nohad Mashnouq, flatly denied, in
a statement on Wednesday, that he had contacted Head of Syria's National
Intelligence Bureau, General Ali Mamlouk, as
published by Orient news site."The press office
of the Minister of Interior utterly denies this news and confirms that it is
unfounded. Minister Mashnouq did not and will not
meet with any official from the Syrian regime, especially nowadays," the
statement read. The news, as published by the said site, claims that Mashnouq and Mamlouk had held
indirect contact with the mediation of an Egyptian military general (Sami Breidi), and discussed plans of forced eviction of Syrians
from
Najjari from Dar al Fatwa: We are attached to stability
of Lebanon
Wed 14 Dec 2016/NNA - Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian, met on Wednesday at
Dar al-Fatwa with the Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon, Nazih
al-Najjari, who expressed his country's commitment to
the restoration of security and stability and to the resumption of
institutional work in Lebanon. "It is always an honor
for us to listen to the Mufti's point of view and his assessment of the
situation on the Arab scene, mainly Lebanon, especially as this country is
about to enter a new period with the imminent formation of a new government. We
want
Hariri from Baabda:
Forming government requires consultations
Wed 14 Dec 2016/NNA - The meeting held at
Jumblatt, FPM delegation tackle electoral law
Wed 14 Dec 2016/NNA - "Democratic Gathering" head MP Walid Jumblatt met on Wednesday
at his residence in Clemenceau with a delegation from "Change and
Reform" bloc, with talks majorly touching on the election law. The
delegation includes Alan Aoun, Neematallah
Abi Nasr, Ghassan Moukhaiber and Ziad Aswad. The meeting took place in the presence of MP Jumbaltt's two sons Teymour and Aslan, Agriculture Minister Akram
Shehayeb, and MPs Ghazi Aridi,
Henry Helo and Marwan Hamadeh. Speaking on emerging, MP Aoun
deemed discussions as frank about concerns over this issue, saying such
discussion needs to be completed. He also relayed that there was no absolute
rejection of the principle of proportionality, which takes into account the
existing concerns and does not annul the representation of any sectarian
component.
FAO Director General winds up visit to
Wed 14 Dec 2016/NNA - The Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization "FAO" Jose Graziano da Silva winded up on Wednesday evening his visit to
Japanese Embassy celebrates Emperor
Birthday
Wed 14 Dec 2016/NNA - Japanese Acting Charge D'Affaire
in Lebanon, Keisuke Yamanaka, held a reception on the occasion of the birthday
of the Emperor of Japan Akihito at the Phoenicia Hotel, in the presence of the
representative of the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, and Prime Minister, Tammam
Salam, Minister Sejaan Azzi,
and the representative of House Speaker Nabih Berri, MP Yassin Jaber, in addition to Environment Minister Mohammed Mashnouq. The reception took place in the presence of
scores of official, political, economic, diplomatic and social dignitaries. In
his delivered word, Yamanaka congratulated the Lebanese on the election of
president of the republic, underlining the importance of bolstering relations
between the two countries in the welfare of the two friendly peoples.
Bassil: FPM is Hizbullah's Ally
and We Have Ability to Urge It to Withdraw from Syria
Naharnet/December 14/16/Free Patriotic Movement chief
and caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil stressed Wednesday that the FPM's
alliance with Hizbullah is firm as he noted that the
FPM “has the ability” to ask the party to withdraw its fighters from Syria.
“The president is the ally of all Lebanese and the FPM is proudly the ally of Hizbullah,” Bassil said during an
interview on al-Mayadeen television. “Hizbullah is our ally and our understanding with them protected
the country and led to the election of the president,” he added. As for the
stalled cabinet formation process, Bassil said he
expects the new government to be formed before Christmas. He also denied that
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is vetoing the
participation of anyone in the new cabinet. Turning to the Syrian conflict, Bassil said: “We support the victory of the Syrian people
and their choices.”He also noted that Syrian leader Bashar Assad is “
FPM Delegation Meets Jumblat,
Says He Doesn't 'Flatly Reject' Proportional Representation
Naharnet/December 14/16/A Free Patriotic Movement
delegation tasked with pushing for the adoption of a new electoral law held
talks Wednesday in Clemenceau with Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat, after which it
announced that the PSP leader is not totally opposed to the proportional
representation system. “The discussion was frank regrading
the concerns, especially with an essential component that has a certain
status,” MP Alain Aoun of the FPM said after the
meeting, referring to Jumblat's minority Druze
community. “We tried through this discussion to reach common answers on how to
mix between addressing concerns and putting an end to the current law, which we
don't consider as the only guarantee or answer to those concerns,” Aoun added. “The discussion needs follow-up and we don't
have a clear or final approach regarding the solution,” the MP went on to say,
noting that Jumblat and the PSP did not “flatly
reject a proportional representation system that takes concerns into
consideration and does not eliminate any sectarian component.”Caretaker
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq
has recently warned that there is not much time left to pass a new electoral
law while announcing that the ministry is ready to organize the polls under the
1960 law. Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an
electoral law fully based on proportional representation but other political
parties, especially al-Mustaqbal Movement, have
rejected the proposal and argued that the party's controversial arsenal of arms
would prevent serious competition in regions where the Iran-backed party is
influential. Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and the
PSP have meanwhile proposed a hybrid electoral law that mixes the proportional
representation and the winner-takes-all systems. Speaker Nabih
Berri has also proposed a hybrid law. The country has
not voted for a parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice
extending its own mandate. The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of
the 1960 electoral law and the next elections are scheduled for May 2017.
FPM, Marada
keen on breaking the ice: MP Aoun
The Daily Star/December 15/16/BEIRUT: A Free Patriotic Movement delegation
Wednesday expressed optimism that its ties with the Marada
Movement will be restored. "We should be able to fold the page and rectify
the crack in ties," FPM lawmaker MP Alain Aoun
told reporters after a meeting with Marada chief Sleiman Frangieh in Bneshaai. Aoun, who headed an FPM
delegation to hammer out a new parliamentary vote law, said the visit was a
"positive sign," and indicated "good intentions" on both
sides. The lawmaker said there are minor differences between the two parties,
and that the Marada Movement supports the new
president. The meeting was expected to ease tensions between the Marada chief and the FPM. Their relationship deteriorated
after Frangieh ran against former FPM leader Michel Aoun for the presidency. The FPM was determined not to
exclude Lebanese faction from any local political agreement, Aoun added. He conveyed the Marada's
support for a proportional representation system in the upcoming parliamentary
elections. Wednesday’s meeting was the first since Frangieh
and President Aoun ran against each other for the
head of state. A delegation chaired by FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan
also visited the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and the Tashnag
Party. Meanwhile, MP Alain Aoun and the accompanying
delegation met with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid
Jumblatt. The delegation has visited several Lebanese
parties to press a proposal to separate talks on a new electoral law for the
country from the Cabinet formation process. The FPM announced Wednesday that an
agreement has been reached on the formation of a committee to draft a new
voting system to replace the 1960 electoral law ahead of parliamentary
elections scheduled for May 2017. The delegation, which belongs to President Aoun’s parliamentary Change and Reform bloc, met with
Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea,
Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, MP Talal Arslan, Prime Minister-designate Saad
Hariri and Kataeb chief Sami Gemayel.
Political powers remain at odds over drafting an electoral law to govern next
year’s parliamentary elections. Lebanese parties are divided between adopting a
proportional vote law, or a hybrid electoral law that includes aspects of the
proportional and winner-take-all systems. The current 1960 winner-take-all
system, which was used in the last elections in 2009, divides the
constituencies based on administrative districts.
Hariri Meets Aoun,
Says Govt. Line-Up Needs More Consultations despite Optimism
Naharnet/December 14/16/Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri held talks Wednesday with President Michel Aoun at the Baabda Palace, amid
reports that the cabinet line-up will be announced in the coming hours after
the main obstacles were resolved.
“The cabinet line-up needs further consultations,” Hariri told reporters after
the meeting. MTV said “it seems that President Aoun
did not approve the draft line-up that Hariri carried with him to Baabda.”According to media reports, Aoun
and Hariri have ditched the 24-minister format in favor
of an expanded 30-member cabinet. The formation process made major progress on
Monday and Tuesday after the political parties reached a settlement over the
thorny issue of the public works portfolio. Under the settlement, the Marada Movement will be given the public works portfolio
while the Lebanese Forces will get the health portfolio.
Jumblat Calls for Formation of 30-Minister Cabinet
Naharnet/December 14/16/Democratic Gathering
parliamentary bloc leader MP Walid Jumblat voiced calls on Wednesday to form a cabinet of 30
ministers in order to represent all political factions in the new government.
“The best way to get a ministry is to return to the the
old formula with a balanced share for the Marada
Movement and the Lebanese Forces,” said Jumblat in a
tweet. Political parties have reportedly agreed on the distribution of ministerial
portfolios and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri
is expected to announce a new cabinet soon. The latest obstacle that was
hampering the formation of a cabinet was the allotment of a key portfolio for
the Marada Movement after insisting to be given one
of three, the telecommunications, public works or energy. Speaker Nabih Berri agreed recently to
concede the public works portfolio in favor of the Marada in what he described as a step to “ease the
differences and facilitate the formation process.”
Berri: No Justification to Delay Cabinet, We Share FPM
Viewpoint on Electoral Law
Naharnet/December 14/16/Speaker Nabih
Berri announced Wednesday that “there is no
justification to further delay the cabinet line-up” after the latest
developments, noting that his AMAL Movement and the Free Patriotic Movement
have “identical viewpoints” on the electoral law. “There is no justification to
further delay the cabinet line-up and the issuance of the decrees, after the
obstacles over the distribution of portfolios were resolved,” Berri said during his weekly meeting with lawmakers in Ain
el-Tineh. “We have fulfilled our promise and offered
all the concessions and support needed to facilitate the formation of the
cabinet,” Berri noted, adding that he expects a quick
approval of the ministerial policy statement. Turning to the issue of the
electoral law, the parliament speaker said: “The issue that we agree the most
on with the FPM is the electoral law.”“We have
identical viewpoints over several formulas containing proportional
representation and this consensus predates the election of the president,” Berri added. He also reiterated his rejection of the 1960
electoral law, noting that “its bad repercussions are very clear and obvious.”
Berri: Forming a National Unity Cabinet of 30-Ministers Was
Agreed
Naharnet/December 14/16/Speaker Nabih
Berri declared that there are no justifiable reasons
to delay the formation of the cabinet any further now that all political
parties have taken their share in the new cabinet, al-Joumhouria
daily reported Wednesday. “I can assure there are no justifiable reasons to
delay issuing the government decrees because each political party has taken its
share in the cabinet,” Berri told his visitors. Asked
about the reasons delaying the announcement, Berri
said: “Until this moment, I personally don't know the reason. I don't know
where the problem is now, although there should not be any.”On
the number of ministers to be represented, he said: “It has not been decided if
it will be composed of 24 or 30 ministers. But during a meeting with President
Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri we agreed to form a national unity cabinet of
30.”“The cabinet is a national unity government and the formation must respect
that principle. All the political parties must be represented because failure
to do so strips the government from its national unity title,” he added. Berri concluded that he conceded the public works ministry
to Marada Movement chief Suleiaman
Franjieh to facilitate the formation of the cabinet.
Lebanese Forces Denies Vetoing
Participation of Kataeb in Government
Naharnet/December 14/16/The Lebanese Forces denied on
Wednesday media reports alleging that the party had vetoed the participation of
the Kataeb party in the upcoming government. “The LF
did not put any veto on Kataeb nor on any other
party,” an LF statement said. “Although the LF is keen on a balanced government
lineup, but it is mainly focused on its situation
inside the government, amid the systematic war staged against the party in an
attempt to intimidate it and then expel it, or to dwarf its national presence
inside the cabinet,” added the statement. Political parties have reportedly
agreed on the distribution of ministerial portfolios and Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri is expected to
announce a new cabinet soon. The latest obstacle that was hampering the
formation of a cabinet was the allotment of a key portfolio for the Marada Movement after insisting to be given one of three,
the telecommunications, public works or energy. Speaker Nabih
Berri agreed recently to concede the public works
portfolio to Franjieh in what he described as a step
to “ease the differences and faciliate the formation
process.”
Protesters
Naharnet/December 14/16/A number of young men blocked
the main highway Tuesday in the al-Abdeh area at Akkar's southern entrance “in solidarity with
Protesters used burning tires to block the vital highway that links
Two killed, one wounded in Mieh Mieh refugee camp
Wed 14 Dec 2016/NNA - Two Palestinians were killed namely Moeen Hosni Abdel Rahman and his
brother Nabil Hosni Abdel Rahman,
and another got injured during the brawl that occurred earlier at the Mieh Mieh refugee camp that
developed into gunfire, NNA reporter said on Wednesday.
Abusive Husband who Killed Wife Gets 22
Years in Jail
Naharnet/December 14/16/Mohammed Monzer
was on Wednesday sentenced to 22 years in jail after he was convicted of
shooting dead his wife, Ruqayya Monzer,
media reports said. Monzer was also ordered to pay
the woman's family 180 million Lebanese pounds in compensations, LBCI
television said.Ruqayya, a mother of a boy and a
girl, was killed during pregnancy on the eve of Mother's Day in 2014. According
to her sister, the woman had asked for divorce after years of abuse at the
hands of her husband. “She was continuously asking him for divorce but he was
threatening her with murdering their children,” the sister says. Several women
have been killed at the hands of their husbands in recent years, sparking
protests and demands for tougher laws against domestic violence.
Hizbollah seeks to retain its pivotal role in Lebanon
Michael Young/The National/December 14/2016
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/14/michael-youngthe-national-hizbollah-seeks-to-retain-its-pivotal-role-in-lebanon/
Last October, when Michel Aoun was on the verge of
obtaining a parliamentary majority allowing him to be elected president of
Lebanon, one thing was clear: Hizbollah was not
pleased with the new alignment that had made the election possible. Since then,
the party has sought to put in place a system that protects its interests.
Hizbollah apparently sought inspiration for this from
a method that the Syrians exploited in
The troika was made possible by post-war realities in the early 1990s. As the
country was rebuilding, tremendous amounts of money were circulating for
reconstruction. The prime minister at the time, Rafiq
Hariri, had portrayed himself as the primary driver of
But Hariri himself was no ingénue. To him the reconstruction effort was useful
as leverage to increase his own power in the state. This he did mainly by
reinforcing institutions tied to his office that allowed him to circumvent
ministries and move his reconstruction plans forward.
The Syrians, who had imposed their rule over
Control was at the heart of the troika system. When Hariri’s son Saad rallied to Mr Aoun several
months ago and backed him for the presidency, Hizbollah
probably sought a similar arrangement.
With support from Mr Hariri and from another old rival of Hizbollah,
the Lebanese Forces of Samir Geagea,
Mr Aoun was in a position to be elected president and
break a presidential deadlock that Hizbollah had
perpetuated.
This worried Hizbollah, which feared that the Aoun-Hariri-Geagea axis could endanger its predominant role
in the political system. The first thing the party did was to give green light
to its Shia ally, Nabih Berri, the powerful speaker of parliament, to declare his
opposition to Mr Aoun and the alliance from which he
benefited.
It’s difficult to determine precisely what Hizbollah
asked of the speaker, but at the least Mr Berri saw
that the party would welcome his playing the role of counterweight to Mr Aoun and to the designated prime minister,
Mr Hariri. In effect a new troika was put in place, one in which the mediator
in future disputes would be not
The new arrangement is interesting for other reasons. It is the fruit of
necessity. Hizbollah could not prevent Mr Hariri from
endorsing Mr Aoun, nor could the party obstruct the Aoun-Geagea rapprochement, which united most Lebanese
Christians behind a Aoun
presidency. In a similar way,
Even if
One such shift came in 1998, when the rise of Bashar
Al Assad in
That year, the Syrians brought in as president Emile Lahoud, who became the main conduit of Syrian power in
Yet all this did was alienate many of
The revolt against Mr Lahoud created dynamics that
later led to Hariri’s assassination in 2005, when he looked as if he would win
a majority in a parliamentary election scheduled for that summer. The crime,
and the widespread anger that it provoked, forced
The situation today is somewhat different. However, Hizbollah
is well aware of the unpredictability of the sectarian system. Which is why it reacted to Mr Aoun’s
election with caution. But the party should not try pushing too far to
reinforce its dominance.
Often, going with the flow of Lebanese realities is safer than trying to
fundamentally transform them.
**Michael Young is a writer and editor in Beirut
Ghosn Named Mitsubishi Chairman as New Executive Roles
Created
Jie Ma and Yuki Hagiwara/Bloomberg/December
13/2016
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/14/jie-ma-and-yuki-hagiwarabloomberg-carlos-ghosn-named-mitsubishi-chairman-as-new-executive-roles-created/
Three other Nissan-appointed executives join Mitsubishi board
Minority shareholders voice concern at meeting on governance
Carlos Ghosn took another step toward
integrating Mitsubishi Motors Corp. into a three-way alliance that can produce
about 10 million vehicles a year after shareholders at the Japanese automaker
approved his nomination as chairman.
Ghosn, already chairman and chief executive
officer at Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA, will join three other
Nissan-appointed executives on the Mitsubishi Motors board of directors after
shareholders voted to approve a series of proposals Wednesday. Nissan in
October completed its acquisition of a $2.3 billion stake in Mitsubishi Motors
after a fuel-economy cheating scandal threatened the automaker with its first
annual loss in eight years.
“I know you will have interrogations about whether this enlarged alliance
will work,” Ghosn, 62, told shareholders at the
extraordinary meeting. “From past experience, I am confident that it will.”
While Mitsubishi Motors’ scandal triggered the stake sale, the increasing
resources required for automakers to stay competitive in developing electric
vehicles and autonomous-driving technology has pushed smaller companies to
partner with bigger competitors. Mitsubishi Motors’ future now hinges on how
well its integrates with the French-Japanese alliance with a combined scale to
rival Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co.
Executive Changes
Mitsubishi Motors will create executive positions that cut across
business units to oversee planning, competitiveness, performance and finance,
adopting management structure similar to Nissan’s. The new managers will report
to Trevor Mann, who was Nissan’s chief performance officer and joined
Mitsubishi Motors to become chief operating officer.
The automaker will move away from a seniority-based compensation system
and tie pay with performance to attract the best talent, Mitsubishi Motors President
Osamu Masuko said. The new remuneration structure
will apply to directors, executives and some employees, he said.
With other Mitsubishi group companies promising to support Nissan,
minority shareholders of Mitsubishi Motors will increasingly find themselves
bound to the priorities of a global car-making alliance that employs 300,000
people in factories from
The three other Nissan-nominated directors to the Mitsubishi Motors board
are Mitsuhiko Yamashita, formerly Nissan’s executive
vice president of research and development before joining Mitsubishi in June;
Hitoshi Kawaguchi, chief sustainability officer and head of global external
affairs; and Hiroshi Karube, the larger automaker’s
global asset manager.
The board also includes two former Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry officials. Other Mitsubishi group companies -- Mitsubishi Corp., Bank
of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. -- have four
representatives on the automaker’s board.
Conflicting Interests
Some minority shareholders at the meeting voiced concerns that their
interests may not be adequately represented given the makeup of the board.
“Nissan may be a shareholder, but it is also a competitor,” said Zuhair Khan, a corporate governance analyst at Jefferies
Group LLC in
With an average age of 67, Mitsubishi Motors also has the oldest board of
directors among all Japanese automakers, Khan said.
Shareholders at the extraordinary meeting on Wednesday approved doubling
the limit for annual board compensation to 2 billion yen ($17.3 million)
annually from 960 million yen. They also backed the introduction of as much as
1 billion yen a year in new equity-linked remuneration.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on on December 14-15/16
Iran's president congratulates Assad for 'liberating Aleppo'
Reuters/Ynetnews/December 14/16/
Plans to evacuate Aleppo are under threat as Assad forces and allies renew air
strikes and shelling in the city and Tehran imposes new conditions; UN says new
attack 'is almost certainly a violation of international law and most likely constitutes
war crimes.'
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has congratulated
Syrian President Bashar Assad on a victory in
"liberated
Iran, one of Assad's main backers in the battle that has all but ended four
years of rebel resistance in the city, imposed new conditions, saying it wanted
the simultaneous evacuation of wounded from two villages besieged by rebel
fighters, according to rebel and UN sources. There was no sign of that
happening. Insurgents fired shells at the two majority Shi'ite
villages, Foua and Kefraya,
in Idlib province west of Aleppo, causing some
casualties, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
There was no immediate indication when the
But air strikes, shelling and gunfire erupted on Wednesday and
"While the reasons for the breakdown in the ceasefire are disputed, the
resumption of extremely heavy bombardment by the Syrian government forces and
their allies on an area packed with civilians is almost certainly a violation
of international law and most likely constitutes war crimes," he added.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov predicted that
rebel resistance would last no more than two or three days. The defense ministry in
Officials in the military alliance backing Assad could not be reached immediately
for Iran’s president congratulates Assad for ‘liberating Aleppo’
Reuters/Ynetnews/December 14/16/
Plans to evacuate Aleppo are under threat as Assad forces and allies renew air
strikes and shelling in the city and Tehran imposes new conditions; UN says new
attack ‘is almost certainly a violation of international law and most likely
constitutes war crimes.’Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has congratulated Syrian President Bashar Assad on a victory in “liberated Aleppo,” Syria’s
presidency said on Wednesday. Rouhani said this was
an important step towards “wiping out terrorism in
Meanwhile, plans to evacuate besieged rebel districts of Aleppo were under
threat on Wednesday as renewed air strikes and shelling rocked the city in a
bombardment the United Nations said “most likely constitutes war crimes.”
Iran, one of Assad’s main backers in the battle that has all but ended four
years of rebel resistance in the city, imposed new conditions, saying it wanted
the simultaneous evacuation of wounded from two villages besieged by rebel
fighters, according to rebel and UN sources. There was no sign of that
happening. Insurgents fired shells at the two majority Shi’ite
villages, Foua and Kefraya,
in Idlib province west of Aleppo, causing some
casualties, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
There was no immediate indication when the
“While the reasons for the breakdown in the ceasefire are disputed, the
resumption of extremely heavy bombardment by the Syrian government forces and
their allies on an area packed with civilians is almost certainly a violation
of international law and most likely constitutes war crimes,” he added. Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov predicted that rebel
resistance would last no more than two or three days. The defense
ministry in
Officials in the military alliance backing Assad could not be reached
immediately for comment on why the evacuation, expected to start in the early
hours of Wednesday, had stalled.
Rapid advances
Nobody had left by dawn under the plan, according to a
Reuters witness waiting at the departure point, where 20 buses stood with
engines running but showed no sign of moving into rebel districts. People in
eastern
In what appeared to be a separate development from the planned evacuation, the
Russian defense ministry said 6,000 civilians and 366
fighters had left rebel-held districts over the past 24 hours. A total of
15,000 people, including 4,000 rebel fighters, wanted to leave
By taking full control of
Fear stalks streets
As the battle for
On Tuesday, the United Nations voiced deep concern about reports it had received
of Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi fighters summarily shooting dead 82 people
in recaptured east
The Syrian army has denied carrying out killings or torture among those
captured, and
Syria Army Resumes Shelling of Rebel
Aleppo
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December
14/16/
"This morning regime forces fired at least 14 shells onto the area held by
the rebels for the first time since Tuesday," said Rami
Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights. "Mortar fire was also heard on the front line between rebel-
and regime-held areas," he said. An AFP journalist in
government-controlled west
Assad: Donald Trump can be our natural
ally
Reuters, Moscow Wednesday, 14 December 2016/Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview with Russian state
television that US President-elect Donald Trump could become a natural ally to
Damascus if he shows he is sincere about fighting terrorism. “If Trump can
genuinely fight against terrorism, he can be our natural ally,” Assad, speaking
through an interpreter, said in the interview which was broadcast on Wednesday.
Assad said he was encouraged by Trump's declarations during the election
campaign about fighting violent extremists and not interfering in the internal
affairs of other countries. But it was unclear if Trump would carry through on
those promises once in office, Assad said.
Iranian reformist diplomat:
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 14
December 2016/A reformist diplomat and former director
of Western Asian affairs in the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Mir Mahmoud Mousavi, warned about the
consequences of the massacres committed and perpetrated by
Staff writer, Al Arabiya.net Wednesday, 14 December 2016/In
an unprecedented move,
Philippine President says he personally
killed suspected criminals
AFP,
Also read: Duterte: Trump says Philippines fighting
drugs ‘the right way’
Duterte also responded to criticism from human rights
groups and US President Barack Obama about his brutal anti-crime tactics,
vowing to continue his crackdown. “If they say that I am afraid to stop (the
campaign) because of the human rights and guys from including Obama: Sorry, I
am not about to do that,” he said in English. Rights groups have previously
accused Duterte of running vigilante death squads in
Also read:
In October, Duterte compared himself to Adolf Hitler
and said he would be “happy to slaughter” three million drug addicts. He later
apologized for the Hitler reference but said he was “emphatic” about wanting to
kill the millions of addicts.
Since his election, police have reported killing 2,086 people in anti-drug
operations. More than 3,000 others have been killed in unexplained
circumstances, according to official figures. Duterte
has insisted that police are only killing in self-defense
and gangsters are murdering the other victims.
Qatar rejects Cairo cathedral bombing
involvement claim
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 14
December 2016/Qatar’s ministry of foreign affairs rejected claims on Tuesday
that the country was involved in the Cairo Coptic cathedral bombing based
purely on the premise that one of the suspects paid a visit to the country in
2015, the state news agency reported. Mohab Moustafa el-Sayed Kassem, who is said to be among those suspected to be
behind the attack, that killed 25 and wounded dozens, visited Qatar in December
last year on a visit visa in accordance to the legal procedures of the country,
director of the information office at the ministry, Ahmed al-Rumaihi, said. Also read: Pictures of the tragic
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December
14/16/France's top diplomat on Wednesday slammed the bullish tone taken by
President-elect Donald Trump with key trade ally
Wednesday, 14 December 2016/NCRI - On Sunday December 11th, 2016, the state-run
newspaper, Shargh admitted to the disaster of child
marriage in the country. The text was entitled "Children do not get
married; they are traded instead." The issue was discussed in a formal
seminar on the topic of child marriage. Shargh
newspaper also wrote:"currently 43 thousand of
those children that get married are aged 10 to 15 and 2 thousand of them are
separated or divorced from their spouses. This is just part of a report that
has been presented at the seminar on child marriage. The seminar was held in
the Amphitheater Hall of the
Maryam Rajavi Calls for Action to
Stop War Crimes by Iran Regime in Aleppo, Syria
Tuesday, 13 December 2016/Maryam Rajavi calls on
international community to take urgent action to stop the war crimes and crimes
against humanity by the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards, militias in
Aleppo Mrs. Maryam Rajavi,
the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, hailed the steadfast people of
the besieged city of Aleppo, describing the massacre of the its innocent people
a war crime and a crime against humanity. She said the mass executions by the
Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards and their mercenary militias were
underway in
Truck Carrying Spy Drones for Houthi Militias Seized in Yemen
Wednesday, 14 December 2016/NCRI - A Yemeni official has revealed that “the
Military Police in Yemen’s Ma’rib province has seized
a big commercial truck carrying spy drones. The truck was on its way to Yemeni
capital of Sanaa to be received by Houthis.” According to Al Arabiya
TV on Monday December 12, Al Arabiya has quoted a
military official as saying that the spy drones are used for monitoring
military targets. Military officials in Ma’rib
province have already discovered and seized several trucks carrying weapons and
military equipment for Houthi militias and their
allies. The trucks usually enter
Wednesday, 14 December 2016/NCRI - A member of the Iranian regime’s parliament
has announced that a motion to reduce diplomatic ties with
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on on December
14-15/16
Coptic, Bishop Angaelos: We Do Not Want Revenge For Cairo Attack, But We
Do Want Justice
Bishop Angaelos, Coptic Orthodox Church UK/ December
12/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/14/coptic-bishop-angaelos-we-do-not-want-revenge-for-cairo-attack-but-we-do-want-justice/
Today is a day of many emotions: sadness, nervousness, uncertainty, and
understandably even anger at times.
That is because yesterday was a day in which we witnessed the worst of
humanity, when innocent women and children who decided to worship their God in
their spiritual home had their lives needlessly and senselessly ended without
warning.
Egyptian Christians protest against the terrorist attack yesterday that left 25
people dead. The banner reads 'No to terrorism'.Reuters
They were used as pawns; a means to an end. To the
perpetrators of this heinous crime, their lives clearly held no greater value
than scribbles on a strategic page; a plan that was to be executed for a cause
to which they were merely incidental, collateral damage. Yesterday we saw
beautiful lives lost, families separated and broken, and whole communities
grieving; a truly painful time that has not only affected Coptic Christians,
but Egyptian society at large, Muslims and Christians alike, and millions
around the world.
Crimes will always be perpetrated and criminals will continue to exist, but
such a strategic, vicious act is difficult to comprehend. It is indeed
difficult to understand how a person might plan and execute such a horrific,
ruthless and barbaric plot against innocent women and children. The only way to
do this is to completely disregard the relevance, value and sanctity of any
life potentially affected by these actions.
In recent decades, we have seen recurring acts of violence against Christians
and Christian communities in
We are thankful for the overwhelming outpouring of emotion and support that we
have personally received from friends, and even indeed strangers, around the
world in response to this horrific and heartbreaking attack, but it is
unfathomable that at the same time, others have politicised this atrocity by
actually laying blame on those targeted, maimed and killed because of the
perceived political stance of Christians in Egypt. They have even gone so far
as to imply that Christians and the Church were somehow complicit in this crime
to gain sympathy, allegedly using their daughters, sisters, mothers and
grandmothers as means to a ludicrous contrived political end.
As Christians, we have hope in the belief that good will prevail despite the
seemingly increasing evil in our world. Life will certainly go on and
atrocities such as these will by no means defeat us. Today, tomorrow and the
next day will continue to bring new beginnings and greater resilience, but
there will continue to be a deep effect on many that may remain with them for
weeks, months, and even years to come.
As Christians, we also believe in forgiveness, but forgiveness is by no means
synonymous with ignoring justice. Forgiveness ensures that our own hearts are
not entangled in a web of anger and resentment, or corrupted by feelings of
hatred or revenge. Forgiveness is ultimately liberating and empowering, but at
the same time, justice is essential; not for the purposes of punishment, but to
secure and protect our societies in which people must respectfully live side by
side.
Chapter 16 of the Gospel of St John tells us that in the world "we will
have tribulation" but to be "of good cheer" for the Lord Jesus
Christ has "overcome the [evils of this] world". The Scriptures also
tell us that "the time is coming that whoever kills [us] will think that
he offers God service" (John 16:2).This reality has been lived for two
millennia, through the reign of Diocletian, and continues until today as we
still witness targeted persecution throughout the world. In facing these
struggles throughout history, too many precious lives have been lost, and this
is why we must advocate for the safeguarding of every life, so that many more
do not continue to suffer on our watch.
As we prepare for feasts and celebrations: Christmas in the Gregorian calendar,
the New Year, the Feast of the Nativity in the Julian calendar, and Epiphany,
sharing them with family and friends around us, there are families that will
not be coming together, and communities that will not be celebrating, as a
result of this great loss. We remember and pray for them all, and assure them
that they will not be forgotten. We also live confident that if we, as limited
imperfect beings, are moved by their loss and suffering in this way, that our perfect,
all-loving, all-powerful, and all-just God hears their cries and will by no
means forsake or forget them, but strengthen, support and comfort them as only
He can.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/bishop.angaelos.we.do.not.want.revenge.for.cairo.attack.but.we.do.want.justice/102900.htm
Netanyahu to Iran: Don't threaten us;
we’re not a rabbit, we’re a tiger
Itamar Eichner/Ynetnews/December
14/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/14/itamar-eichnerynetnews-netanyahu-to-iran-dont-threaten-us-were-not-a-rabbit-were-a-tiger/
Prime Minister Netanyahu meets long-reigning Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev during his
visit the country, speaking of establishing deeper ties between both countries
and of the gradually growing warmth between Israel and Muslim and Arab
countries, a change that is partially happening behind the scenes.
While on tour in
Nazarbayev told Netanyahu that Khamenei
is due to visit Kazahstan, and asked whether he
wished to deliver a message to him. "Ask him why
Netanyahu added that those who threaten
Netanyahu was received at the royal presidential palace by an honorary guard,
while the Israeli national anthem played in the background. Together with
President Nursultan, he signed a research and
development agreement, a flight agreement, an agreement to build a joint
agricultural center and several other forms signaling
the two countries' cooperation. The two leaders also discussed setting up teams
to develop hi-tech, technology and security endeavors.
Netanyahu stated that what is being seen today is the
leaders or a Muslim and Jewish state shaking hands and cooperating to create a
better future for the citizens of their countries. Their example, he said,
radiates to the entire world, showing that
He also stressed that while some of the interactions and progress made between
Netanyahu also praised Nursultan, specifically for
his tolerance toward Jews. Calling Kazakhstani-born Israeli Jews "a human
bridge" to
This is reportedly the first visit a sitting Israeli prime minister has made to
UAE’s power is Saudi Arabia’s power
Turki Aldakhil/Al
Arabiya/December 14/16
“Saudi Arabia is a key pillar of the Gulf region,” said Crown Prince of Abu
Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed during the Saudi King
Salman’s recent visit to the UAE. King Salman was given an exceptional reception during the visit,
combining modernity with tradition, horses with camels and sand and soil. The
Saudi king sat down with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed on a podium. It was a display of history and glories
of the past as they watched a show depicting the UAE’s
historical legacy. The show included dances, songs and poems by tribes saluting
the honorable guest. Words and smiles of harmony were
abundantly exchanged. The Saudi delegation was happy to see unity among people
of the two countries and their leaders when the region is facing extraordinary
challenges.
The UAE set an example of solidarity when
The King’s visit
The king rounded up his tour with a visit to Dubai, a city that he loves and
that loves him. The city had renamed one of its major neighborhoods
after King Salman. Commenting on the visit, Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid wrote: “The relations between the kingdom and the UAE
exceeded diplomatic ties and have joined as one.”Emirati
poet, Jomaa al-Ghowais,
read out a poem in praise of King Salman. His poem
added to the atmosphere as Ghowais spoke about
cooperation between
The two societies
This number does not only reveal the strong relations
between the two sides but also how strong ties between the two societies.
Emirati television channels hosted guests who explained the roots of these
relations which have been on since the UAE was established in the beginnings of
the 1970s. I write this article so the Emirati society knows about the reaction
not evident during the historic and massive reception of King Salman. This reception reassures everyone that the union
has in fact begun between the two countries and that it is no longer an
ordinary relation. The visit was not ordinary to begin with and the king “was
not a passing guest” as Jomaa al-Ghowais
put it in his beautiful poem. It’s the first stage of cooperation and we aspire
more after this. This is the Gulf region, and these are the exemplary relations
which must be followed to take the Gulf Cooperation Council from this state of
cooperation to the aspiration of the “union.”
**This article was first published in Al-Bayan on
Dec. 14, 2016.
This holiday season, here’s what we should
do for Syria’s children
Peter Harrison/Al Arabiya/December 14/16
In August the world briefly showed its outrage when five-year-old Omran Daqneesh was pictured being
carried into an ambulance covered in dirt and blood, having been pulled from
the rubble in his Aleppo home. There was a brief follow up in which news broke
that his brother was killed in the same attack, and then, like so many of
thousands – nee millions – to be displaced, Omran
became a distant memory. For his short moment of fame his name trended
everywhere – on Facebook and Twitter people posted
comments next to his iconic photo saying “never again” and “this has to stop”.
I personally remember seeing one exchange in which a person said they felt bad,
but that there was nothing they could do. A friend of theirs then replied that
they were doing something – they were raising awareness.
Omran’s face vanished from that timeline, like so
many, and has been pushed down by holiday snaps, photos of friends’ babies and
countless groups of people at some party or another. Meanwhile, as I write
this,
Christmas present
Meanwhile, those of us lucky enough not to be stuck in a war torn hell hole
such as Syria’s Aleppo make plans to spend Christmas and the New Year with
family and friends. We think nothing of spending a small fortune on presents
that none of us actually need – but it’s a nice thing to do. And as many
millions of us enjoy time with people we care most about, many people will be
stuck in camps in Syria’s neighboring countries or
further afield. I know that - unbeknown to many – aid organizations are
struggling to cope with vast amounts of refugees still stranded in
There seems to be no end in sight for these people until someone somewhere
comes up with some magic formula. That magic formula I suspect is an unlikely
compromise – but sadly that seems a long way off. It needs either war to end or
for countries to open their borders and give them much needed help. Meanwhile
those of us going to our families for Christmas should not feel bad about this,
but we should also not shrug our shoulders and exclaim there’s nothing we can
do for the likes of Omran and his family. There’s lots we can do – all of us.
We can all contribute to charities, we can send toys,
food parcels – whatever it takes. I shan’t start listing organizations here,
but there are many and they all need our help. We might not be able to
physically travel to the millions stranded – but there’s still a lot we can do.
Whichever side people support.
**With hands held together we can at least calm our collective nerves and hope
for a better 2017.
The United
The "Just
Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/December 14/ 2016
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9454/united-church-of-christ-terrorism
The United Church of Christ (UCC) published a guide to Israel-Palestine affairs
in August and again in September 2016. Entitled, "Promoting a Just Peace
in Palestine-Israel", this toxic document is a desperately one-sided,
inaccurate, and counter-factual exercise in futile politics. It most certainly
does not favour justice or peace in the
The naïvety of the UCC is particularly striking in
its choice to take at face value the Palestinian statement that if
Unfortunately, the Palestinians have a history of regarding every retreat
by
In its introduction, the UCC, knowing full well that
The UCC Guide states flatly that "Israeli settlements in the
The Palestinians not only reject all offers of peace on that basis but go
much farther and call every day for the abolition of
The UCC Guide states that "
The UCC boasts that it is "a just peace church", but instead of
supporting peace and justice, it defends mass murderers. It complains about the
defensive actions of the Jews and is knowingly silent about the horrors wrought
by Palestinian wars and terrorism. It treats Palestinian actions as mere
responses to Israeli aggression -- a total reversal of historical fact.
Is the UCC unaware that Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is
far from being a feel-good interfaith movement for peace and warm relations? It
is, in fact, notorious for its close ties to Islamic terrorism. Even ten years
ago, its true character was well known. Has no-one in the UCC the wit or
decency to repudiate this unsuitable connection? Or to raise the fact that many
Muslims across the
The UCC cannot continue to assert its association with Jesus Christ, a
man of peace, when they so openly espouse the cause of Palestinian
"resistance" that embraces violence as a solution above any form of
peace-making. Christ said "Blessed be the peace-makers," yet here is
a Christian church that blesses men of violence.
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a shrinking Christian denomination
mainly active in the
Although the UCC's membership has included many
major U.S. governors, senators, members of the Supreme Court such as William H.
Rehnquist; some outstanding theologians such as H. Richard Niebuhr, his older
brother Reinhold, and Paul Tillich; and several writers, and academics, it is,
however, best known today as the church that U.S. President Barack Obama
attended for twenty years between 1988 and 2008. For all those years, it was
his spiritual home: "Trinity was where I found Jesus Christ, where we were
married, where our children were baptized." He attended Trinity UCC in
Love and justice are indeed admirable values, but there are several ways
in which to understand them. For the UCC, it is apparently social justice
coupled with radicalism that matter. Trinity's bookstore carries titles such as
Gayraud S. Wilmore's Black Religion and Black
Radicalism. It is this radical approach to social issues that seems concerning.
Obama's "close spiritual advisor" in the church was none other
than its senior pastor, Jeremiah Alvesta Wright Jr.,
who served as pastor there from 1972 to 2008. Wright was not merely a radical,
but apparently believed and "preached anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,
advocated bizarre pseudo-scientific racial ideas, opposed interracial marriage,
praised communist dictatorships, denounced black 'assimilation' ... and really
believed that HIV/AIDS was created by the American government to kill black
people."
As if this were not enough, Wright harboured deep anti-American beliefs:
In a sermon last September 16 marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11
entitled, "The Day of Jerusalem's Fall," Wright seemed to celebrate
white America's comeuppance. ... "We supported state terrorism against the
Palestinians and black south Africans and now we are indignant because the
stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back into our own front
yards."
It is clear that Jeremiah Wright has a strange understanding of love and
justice. And it is also disconcerting that Barack Obama spent twenty years
attending his sermons and called him a close spiritual mentor. But perhaps
It is even more evident in a speech given by Wright in 2015, in which he
declared without blushing that "Jesus was a Palestinian," and
compared young black men and women in Ferguson with the young men and women in
"Palestine." This and other statements were delivered at a Nation of
Islam event in Washington D.C. Speaking of the Black Lives Matter movement,
Wright said:
"The same issue is being fought today and has been fought since
1948, and historians are carried back to the 19th century ... when the original
people, the Palestinians -- and please remember, Jesus was a Palestinian -- the
Palestinian people had the Europeans come and take their country."
The speech was, in short, a farrago of ahistorical
nonsense. He said further, citing the modish notion of intersectionality:
"The youth in
Really? More egregious than
He then went on to condemn
"As we sit here, there is an apartheid wall being built twice the
size of the Berlin Wall in height, keeping Palestinians off of illegally
occupied territories, where the Europeans have claimed that land as their own.
Palestinians are saying 'Palestinian lives matter.' We stand with you, we
support you, we say God bless you."
It is hardly a secret that Barack Obama hates
It appears that "Obama was 'part of the Chicago scene' where
Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. and radicals would go to
each other's events and support each other's causes." Here again, the
question arises: was this anti-Semitic, pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel current
simply a part of black
The answer is to be found in two overwhelming votes passed on
"Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions" (BDS) and
"Israel-apartheid" resolutions by the UCC on June 30, 2015. According to the New York Times:
"Approval came at the church's general synod in
A second resolution, condemning Israel as an "apartheid" state,
received fewer votes (51.4%) and did not pass, but its presence at the synod
said a great deal.
After this vote, the United Church of Christ published a guide to
Israel-Palestine affairs in August and again in September 2016. Entitled,
"Promoting a Just Peace in Palestine-Israel", this toxic document is
a desperately one-sided, inaccurate, and counter-factual exercise in futile
politics. It most certainly does not favour justice or peace in the
But the guide produced by the church rejects any call to hear more than
the Palestinian narrative and anti-Israel arguments. At the end, it has a
four-page list of resources, books, DVDs, websites, a reading list, educational
material, alternative travel organizations, and films. Not one of the many
items on this list is remotely pro-Israel. All are hardline
pro-Palestine activist materials and links. The UCC guide does not pay even lip
service to the notion of fairness, dual narratives, or a need for mutual
understanding. The pro-peace Jewish/Israeli voice is silenced, while
Palestinian hate speech, genocidal threats, and
endless terrorism do not come in for criticism at any moment.
It is worth looking at some of the arguments advanced in the guide, and
where better to start than the Introduction (p.2), which opens with a reference
to the 2009 Kairos Palestine document. This prefaces
everything else because part of the resolution at the 30th synod was that
church members must study the document as a basis for their understanding of
the
There is no room here to describe Kairos in
detail, but readers can find full commentary here and here. Perhaps it is
enough to say that the Central Conference of American Rabbis has described it
as "supersessionist" and
"anti-Semitic". Supersessionism is a modern
revival of the older Christian claim that God has replaced the Jews with
Christians, who are now his favoured people. It permits the introduction of
overt anti-Semitism into Christian doctrine and action, for all that it is no
longer a mainstream position within Christian churches, except, sadly, in
The Kairos Palestine document was put together
by Christian Palestinians who adopted the Muslim narrative about Palestinians
as innocent victims of Jewish aggression. It is mendacious about which of the
two sides is responsible for the violence that has accompanied the creation and
maintenance of a Jewish state. Here is just one example of this distortion:
"The Palestinian people... also engaged in peaceful struggle, especially
during the first intifada."
The words "peaceful struggle" surely stick
in one's throat. During the first four years of the intifada, more than 3,600
Molotov cocktail attacks, 100 hand-grenade attacks and 600 assaults with guns
or explosives were reported by the Israel Defense
Forces. The violence was directed at civilians and soldiers alike. During this
period, 16 Israeli civilians and 11 soldiers were killed by Palestinians in the
territories; more than 1,400 Israeli civilians and 1,700 Israeli soldiers were
injured. Approximately 1,100 Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli
troops. And Palestinians were indeed stabbed, hacked with axes, shot, clubbed
and burned with acid -- not by Israelis but by Palestinian death squads.
One of the authors of the Kairos document was Theodosias Atallah Hanna, the
Archbishop of Sebastia from the Orthodox Patriarchate
of Jerusalem and a former spokesman of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem and the
"The suicide bombers who carry out their activities in the name of
religion are national heroes and we're proud of them," Hanna has allegedly
said, according to the ASSIST News Service. He also said, in a speech in
The UCC, moreover, has gone out of its way to ally itself with Muslims
and to attack Jews, so their unwillingness to condemn Hanna and other authors
of the Kairos document lends a further air of
one-sidedness to their position. This one-sidedness is made abundantly clear:
1.4 In the face of this reality,
Oh? As when the Israelis left the Gaza Strip in 2005?
Unfortunately, the Palestinians have a history of regarding every retreat by
It is all, then, still the fault of
The naïvety of the UCC is particularly striking
in its choice to take at face value the Palestinian statement that if
That naivety is further underscored by the fact that Israel pulled its
troops and civilians out of Gaza between 1994 and 2005, yet
"resistance" by Gazan terrorists under the
radical Islamic movement Hamas grew fiercer than before, resulting in ongoing
rocket attacks on Israeli towns and three major wars in 2008-9, 2012, and 2014.
In its Introduction, the UCC, knowing full well that
Another gratuitous piece of misinformation occurs on page 3 of the UCC
Guide, which claims that Israeli settlements in the
The UCC Guide states flatly that "Israeli settlements in the
Resolution 242 was deliberately phrased -- "territories" rather
than "the territories" -- to show that Israel should not leave all
the West Bank and did not have to move its military forces out until the
Palestinians agreed to a lasting peace based on secure borders for the Jewish
state. The Palestinians not only reject all offers of peace on that basis but
go much farther and call every day for the abolition of
On that same page, the UCC Guide condemns what it describes as the
"Separation Wall," pretending that
The promotion of lies magnifies a growing sense that the UCC does not
care about human life. Palestinian lives, yes (and there is nothing wrong with
that); but clearly, Jewish lives and Jewish efforts to preserve life are of
little or no concern. Worse, the church does not seem to know or care that Arab
Israelis (including Christians) are almost as likely as Jews to die in a
suicide bombing or a bomb on board a bus.
On page 4, the UCC Guide states that "
Today, there are nearly 40 crossings between
Judea and
They also clarified that, "Crossings" and
"checkpoints" are terms with different meanings. Crossings are
facilities used by Palestinians to enter from Judea and
Checkpoints have been used as a method to filter out and prevent terror
attacks before would-be Palestinian attackers have a chance to enter
It may well be true, as the UCC Guide states, that these checkpoints
cause inconvenience to innocent Palestinians. That is unfortunate and wholly
undesirable for an Israeli government fighting international opprobrium. But
the checkpoints are not there to target innocent Palestinians. They are there
to restrain terrorists from setting out to kill innocent Israelis. The only
people to criticize the checkpoints across
The above reference to "female suicide bombers hiding explosives
under their clothing" was prompted by a particularly disturbing example of
one young woman from
"My dream was to be a martyr. I believe in death. Today I wanted to
blow myself up in a hospital, maybe even in the one in which I was treated. But
since lots of Arabs come to be treated there, I decided I would go to another,
maybe the Tel Hashomer, near Tel Aviv. I wanted to
kill 20, 50 Jews ..."
Yet the UCC wants to see crossings and checkpoints removed because they
inconvenience Palestinians -- Palestinians like Wafa
al-Biss and members of the Abu Rish
Brigade; Palestinians like the thousands of bombers, knife-wielders, machete
carriers, gunmen and others who have tried and, all too often, succeeded in
slipping through checkpoints to kill innocent men, women and children; killers
whom Hamas and the Palestinian Authority honour as heroes and heroines, martyrs
and prisoners who slaughter in support of the fantasy that their deeds will
advance the cause of a better life for the Palestinian people.
As the Palestinian media, mosque sermons, and political speeches remind
the world daily, the long-term aim of the Palestinian authorities is to carry
out genocide against the Jews whom they falsely allege have "stolen"
their land (UCC Guide, p.4), and to destroy an open, pluralistic, democratic
state.
The UCC boasts that it is "a just peace church" (Guide, p. 6),
but instead of supporting peace and justice, it defends mass murderers. It
complains about the defensive actions of the Jews and is knowingly silent about
the horrors wrought by Palestinian wars and terrorism. It treats Palestinian
actions as mere responses to Israeli aggression -- a total reversal of
historical fact. Is it even morally defensible to call the members of this church followers of a man known as "the Prince of
Peace"?
There is a final irony here, and it makes matters worse. On the one hand,
the UCC shows itself to be profoundly anti-Semitic. Not only do they hold a supersessionist view of Jews and Judaism, but their
startling double standards towards
On the other hand, the UCC loves Muslims and goes out of its way to
support them. Of course, there is nothing wrong with befriending others or
supporting them when they are subjected to discrimination. Several of the
church's online pages make a point of this (for example here, here and here). A
report from June 8, 2016 informs us:
This interfaith Ramadan campaign, a celebration of solidarity, is the
result of a partnership between representatives from the Northwest Chapter of
the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Pacific Northwest
Conference of the United Church of Christ, and denominational leaders. UCC
churches, to honor Muslim neighbors'
Ramadan commitments, have been invited to do three
simple things during this holy month:
1) Hang a banner or change their message boards in a way that honors our Muslim neighbors.
2) Take time to make an appointment to visit a local mosque or Islamic
center to bring greetings from their local congregation.
3) Consider hosting an event to learn more about Islam and make a special
effort to speak up against anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Is the UCC unaware that Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is
far from being a feel-good interfaith movement for peace and warm relations? It
is, in fact, notorious for its close ties to Islamic terrorism. Even ten years
ago, its true character was well known:
There is another side to CAIR that has alarmed many people in positions
to know. The Department of Homeland Security refuses to deal with it. Senator
Charles Schumer (D-NY) describes it as an organization "which we know has
ties to terrorism." Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) observes that CAIR is
"unusual in its extreme rhetoric and its associations with groups that are
suspect."
Steven Pomerantz, the FBI's former chief of
counterterrorism, notes that "CAIR, its leaders, and its activities
effectively give aid to international terrorist groups."
The family of John P. O'Neill, Sr., the former FBI counterterrorism chief
who perished at the World Trade Center, named CAIR in a lawsuit as having
"been part of the criminal conspiracy of radical Islamic terrorism"
responsible for the September 11 atrocities.
Counterterrorism expert Steven Emerson calls it "a radical
fundamentalist front group for Hamas."
It is worth pausing here to point out that Hamas is, in fact, the leading
terror organization fighting
"Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international
conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance
Movement... "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except
through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a
waste of time and vain endeavors."
Has no-one in the UCC the wit or decency to repudiate this unsuitable
connection? Or, in their wider dealings with Islamic groups, to raise the fact
that many Muslims across the
In
Building bridges between faith communities is commendable for any church;
but to do so in such an uncritical fashion, failing to raise authentic
Christian concerns about Islamic persecution, exhibiting the worst possible naïvety about Islamic radicalism and terrorism, and turning
with such vehemence against the Jewish world passes far beyond a decent and --
should we not say it? -- Christian expression of faith.
Mistakes and falsehoods such as those we encounter throughout the UCC's misnamed guide to "Promoting a Just Peace in
Palestine-Israel," each one seemingly trivial, cannot be dismissed as the
results of a moment's inattention. Much effort has gone into the writing of
this Guide, and factual errors, which take up so much of the text, must to a
large extent be conscious. But there can be no excuse for this degree of
carelessness in such an important document, given the number of lives that have
been lost, are still being lost, and may well be lost in future in the course
of this unending conflict.
If a body of Christians really cares about Palestinian lives, Muslim and
Christian alike, not to mention the lives of Israeli children, the lives of
everyone on either side, then supporting an illegal and fanatical use of
violence by telling lies and permitting distortions in order to incite an
anti-Semitic hatred that will embolden and activate further terrorist attacks,
is beyond measure a contradiction of normative Christian ethics.
The UCC cannot continue to assert its association with Jesus Christ, a
man of peace, when they so openly espouse the cause of Palestinian
"resistance" that embraces violence as a solution above any form of
peace-making. Christ said "Blessed be the peace-makers," yet here is
a Christian church that blesses men of violence.
**Dr. Denis MacEoin, an Irish and
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights
reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced,
copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone
Institute.
Violence Against
Non-Muslim Increases in Bangladesh
Mohshin Habib/Gatestone
Institute/December 14/2016
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9538/muslim-hindu-violence-bangladesh
"Since 2013,
"A new
Minority communities across
In one incident alone, a group of Muslims carried out attacks that left more
than 100 injured and several hundred victims homeless. Hindus, at 9% of the
total population the largest religious minority in
A day before the attacks began, a rumor circulated
that a 27-year-old Hindu man named Rasraj Das edited
a photograph superimposing the Hindu God Shiva onto an image of the Kaaba (the holiest site in Islam) and posted it on his Facebook page. Within hours of the post, he was caught by
local Muslims and handed over to the police. Prior to his arrest, Das pleaded
his innocence on his Facebook page, saying:
"At first I am apologizing to Muslim brothers because someone has posted a
photograph from my facebook account without my
knowledge. When I came to know yesterday night (October 28), I deleted it
immediately. Here we live side by side as Hindu-Muslim brothers, I have no such
mentality and of course I don't have such imprudent courage."
Yet the uproar of the Muslim community was not appeased, and on October 30,
shortly after the early morning prayer, religious
Muslims, in the name of "hurting Muslims' feelings," called on fellow
Muslims, using loudspeakers from the neighboring
mosques, to come out to retaliate. According to some witnesses, the local
administration and police had a nonchalant attitude and did not intervene to
protect the minority community.
After this episode, unrest spread across
Pictured above: A Hindu temple in
"I have asked Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka to call on the Prime
Minister and express grave concern about the safety and wellbeing of the Hindus
in
Minority Rights Group International summarizes the escalating acrimony:
"Since 2013,
In another incident, on November 6, the staff of a sugar mill in Rangpur district, accompanied by local people, attacked
indigenous Santal people. Three Hindu tribesmen were
killed, and scores injured, when one of the five magistrates on the scene
ordered police to open fire on them. Later, the mill's management blamed local
villagers for the attack on the Santals.
The cascade of Hindu persecution seems only to be gaining momentum;
furthermore, it appears that the government of
The growing tide of Islamic fundamentalism in
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. According to SITE
Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist networks, all the attackers were
Bangladeshi.
The rise of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism and radical activity in
Bangladesh in recent years has taken on the form of bombings, machete attacks
and in general generating fear between Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Prior
to the events of September 11, 2001, political Islam and other forms of extremisms
were already on the rise in the region. According to a 2014
Georgetown Security Studies Review:
"A new
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The
articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of
Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced,
copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone
Institute.